Rootstocks and Propagation Fruit trees grown from seed produce inferior fruits and are best used as rootstocks for grafting.
Such rootstocks will produce full-size trees, which may not be desirable since such trees may be too big to prune, pick or spray.
For example, standard pear trees can grow from 25 to 40 feet tall.
Determining Size This is the reason that stems (called scions) cut from fruit tree cultivars with desirable fruit characteristics are grafted onto rootstocks that will determine the tree’s size.
Fruit trees on dwarf rootstocks mature at eight to 10 feet tall;
Semidwarf rootstocks mature at 12 to 18 feet. (Although dwarf trees can grow in more shallow soils than semidwarf and standard trees, they require much more pruning and training, and are hard to mow under.)
The life span of a semidwarf tree is 25 to 30 years; a full-sized tree’s life span is 140 years.
Rootstocks also affect:
Yield
Years to bearing
How well the tree will withstand drought, waterlogging, cold, disease and other adverse conditions.
Grafting to Propagate Grafting is the best way to propagate most fruit trees.
Using this method, you can quickly start large numbers of trees of the same cultivar.
Grafting techniques take time to master and are best learned by working alongside an experienced tutor.
Although there are a number of different grafting methods to choose from, all of them bind two regions of actively dividing cells together as one.
Many detailed texts are available on specific techniques for different species.
No discussion of growing fruits can avoid mentioning pests and diseases.
These are a fact of life for fruit growers, and coping with them is of utmost importance if you wish to sell your produce.
You must strike a balance between:
Controlling problems sufficiently to meet consumers’ cosmetic requirements for fruits, and
Using as few poisons as possible to minimize ecological damage and meet consumers’ desire for “natural” or organic produce.
Plant Choices and Care Matter Head-off some problems before they start by planting disease- and pest-resistant cultivars of fruit plants wherever possible.
In some cases, native American plants are better adapted to local environments than Asian or European species.
Growing Techniques Then, follow growing techniques that minimize problems:
Maximize air circulation and sunlight for each plant.
Water and prune correctly.
Don’t fertilize after midsummer because this will encourage tender new growth late in the year, when the plant is most vulnerable to winter damage and other problems after that.
Planting large numbers of the same plant in one place makes it easier for the insects and animals that eat them to have their fill, so interspersing different species can help control problems.
When you encounter an insect or animal pest, try to minimize its damage with traps, barriers, and other physical deterrents so you don’t have to utilize poisons.
For example … Birds adore mulberries, so planting mulberry trees can distract them from eating your other fruit crops–a win-win solution for everybody.
Encourage beneficial insects by planting the small-flowered, herbal plants they use as food and shelter near your fruit plants.
Use traps and sticky barriers to catch insects before they reach your fruit.
Pesticides? Pesticides should be your last resort. They kill beneficial insects as readily as pests and can harm animals and humans also.
Organic pesticides, which are made from botanical or biological compounds, such as chemicals found in some plants, are just as toxic as synthetically derived chemicals, although they usually break down faster after use.
They are not harmless and must be used with appropriate care. Start lower on the poison chain with soap spray or baking soda compounds you can make yourself and work up. Aim to spray as little as possible throughout the year.
Try also to educate your customers. If people understood the chemical price they were paying for “perfect” fruit, they might learn to tolerate produce that looks different, but that’s healthier, less polluting and often better tasting.
This article contains excerpts from “The Art of Fruit Trees” by Lorraine Anderson and “Twisting Tradition in the Orchard” by Emily Goodman. Read the full articles in Popular Farming Series: Orcharding, a publication with in-depth information for those who grow or would like to grow orchard crops. Buy one online or call (800) PET-BOOK (738-2665).
crops’Growing and Rediscovering HedgerowsWould you like a hedgerow on your farm? With a nod toward the past, farmers are rediscovering that the humble hedgerow provides value for the future.hedgerows, growing hedgerowsWould you like a hedgerow on your farm With a nod toward the past, farmers are rediscovering that the humble hedgerow provides value for the future.Would you like a hedgerow on your farm With a nod toward the past, farmers are rediscovering that the humble hedgerow provides value for the future.Crops & Gardening
Carol Ekarius is an HF contributing editor and author of Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream for Pleasure and Profit (Hobby Farm Press; 2005).
Hedgerows have long played an important role in agriculture. Since Bronze Age people first used them to divide fields, mark property boundaries and control livestock in Europe more than 5,000 years ago, farmers around the world have appreciated the benefits hedgerows provide.
Unfortunately, many hedgerows (some of them centuries old) were destroyed over the last 50 years both abroad and in the United States as agriculture moved into the Industrial Age. But in the United States today, Eastern farmers who have historic hedgerows are becoming interested in revitalizing them, and farmers in the West, a place without a real hedgerow tradition, are leading the hedgerow renaissance with new plantings. Grower’s curiosity and willingness to invest in hedgerows is being spurred on by research and by on-farm examples that show the myriad benefits, ranging from acoustic buffering to wildlife corridors.
What’s so special about hedgerows?
A hedgerow is defined as a row of trees or shrubs enclosing or separating fields. Talk to anyone who has experience with today’s hedgerow revival, from farmers to researchers to academic folks, and you get caught up in their exuberance:
Hedgerow Planting Tips
A year before you intend to plant, plow or disc the planned hedgerow area and plant a green-manure crop of annual legumes and/or cereal grains. In the fall, plow or disk this down.
Research plants during the winter to decide what is right for your hedgerow.
Plant your hedgerow in early spring, right after the last winter frost.
Plant trees and shrubs about eight feet apart. Plant grasses and flowering plants in between.
Plant one or two rows of the tallest species you plan to include in your hedgerow flanked by a row or two of shorter species.
Make sure the planting holes are deep and wide enough to accept and cover the roots of each plant; mound dirt around the edge of the planting area to help retain water.
Mulch to discourage weeds.
Hedgerows break the wind. Hedgerows attract beneficial insects and reduce pests. Hedgerows provide privacy screens and reduce noise. Hedgerows provide ancillary crops, like nuts, fruit or firewood. Hedgerows replace weeds. Hedgerows reduce erosion. Hedgerows help hold water. In addition to all that, hedgerows are also beautiful. The list goes on and on.
Terence Welch, sales manager at Phil Foster Ranches in California, is a hedgerow advocate. “We have two farms, one with 50 acres here in San Juan Bautista, where we grow our cool-season crops, and the other is 200 acres east of Hollister, where it is 10 degrees hotter and where we grow most of our hot-season crops.”
Between the two farms they grow about 70 different organic vegetables, melons and tree fruits. They market through farmer’s markets, and to distributors and retailers in San Francisco and beyond. Since the late 1990s, they have installed about 7,500 feet of hedgerow plantings in five different hedges at the two farms.
When asked how they got started, Terrence replies: “Well, I think that Phil [Foster] was hearing some good things about hedgerows,” he says. “He got togetherwith Sam Earnshaw at CAFF [California Alliance for Family Farmers], who is our hedgerow consultant. Sam came up with a design for the first hedgerows and they were planted here at San Juan. They were quite successful.”
Sam’s design relied on California native shrubs, grasses and flowering plants that would be drought tolerant to survive their five-month dry season, which comes during the heat of summer. The plants were established on a four-foot grid, with a permanent woody plant alternating with the grasses and other flowering plants.
They were initially planted with the intention of providing shelter and food for beneficial insects that would then spread into the fields–and they have. But their benefits don’t stop there.
“We are in a very windy area here in San Juan because the afternoon breeze shoots through in the summer,” says Terrence. “We have found we can use them for wind protection for crops like cucumbers, which is nice. Aesthetically, it is nice to have them on the farm. They provide bloom, or food, for native bees early in the spring and that’s really important for us. With the decline of the European honeybee [from disease and predator insects], we have to have substitutes. Native bees are important for pollinating crops, especially the tree fruits in early spring.”
Rachael Long is a farmer and a Pest Management Advisor with the California Cooperative Extension Service at UC Davis. She has seen the same benefits that Terence has on her own farm—where she and her husband have planted hedgerows among their fields of alfalfa, sunflowers (for seed), oats, rye and wheat—and in her research projects. “Hedgerows definitely attract beneficial insects,” says Long.
Resources
The University of California Cooperative Extension Service has made a video, Establishing a Hedgerow, that is available for $20 from www.anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu (search for keyword “hedgerow” to find it).
“What I have found over the years of doing work with hedgerows is that the best thing about them is that they can actually replace weedy vegetation and weeds tend to have a lot more pests than managed vegetation.”
Rachael did a two-year research project that compared pests in weeds to pests in hedgerows with managed native vegetation. She found the population of pests to be significantly lower in the managed vegetation and the population of beneficials to be much higher. Best of all, some of the graduate students who have done research with her have shown reduced pests in adjacent crops.
Not one-size-fits-all Hedgerows aren’t cookie-cutter plantings that are the same from one farm to the next. Farmers who want to install them need to do some planning before they start planting. “For each landowner and for each field within a farm, there may be unique opportunities and limitations that need to be considered when planning a hedgerow,” says Michael Gold, Associate Director for the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri.
Jude Hobbs, of Agroecology Northwest in Eugene, Ore., agrees. “People often want it to happen right now, but if you are doing long-term planning you have a better chance of success.”
Both Michael and Jude say farmers should ask themselves some questions when planning for a hedgerow: What function do you want it to serve? Where are you thinking about having it? What crops will be grown near it? How much time do you have to maintain it? This is an important consideration in the first few years when weeds can overtake the hedgerow or when critters can eat it before it gets going.
What kind of water source do you have? Can you apply water to it for the first three to five years for establishment? What kind of soil do you have? Is there a concern about flooding? What is your budget? All these will have an impact on species selection.
Planning can apply to just one criteria of plant selection: height. “Say you have 600 acres planted in corn, beans and wheat in large fields,” he says, “then you are well-suited to put in a more traditional windbreak-style hedgerow, with some tall trees included in the mix of plants you select. If you move the rows closer together, say in a pasture, it is called alley cropping and you may choose trees that don’t grow quite as tall. On a small farm, around some vegetable plots, you may want hedgerows that only have shrubs and herbaceous plants so you aren’t shading too much area.”
Production Values Although much of the emphasis on hedgerows is in relation to their tangential benefits, with the right design they can also have productive value, bringing in revenue to the farm. “Implicit in everything we are trying to do in agroforestry is the idea that we have a production benefit from our plantings. If, for example, you are thinking of adding diversity to your operation, you can fit tree species that have commercial potential into your hedgerow. You could use pecans in lower areas, move up to walnuts on slightly drier ground and add chestnuts further up the slope.”
Products from hedgerows can range from the obvious, like fruit, nuts or firewood, to the more esoteric, like medicinal herbs or flowers and greenery for the floral industry. Agritourism operators can take advantage of the birds that are attracted to the hedgerows: For the bird watcher, hedgerows attract a wide assortment of neo-tropical songbirds; for the hunter, an abundance of upland game birds, such as turkey or quail.
When income from the hedgerow is one of the functions you are considering, then you may be looking at some non-native species, bringing up one concern: invasives.
Since your hedgerow will border crops, avoid plants that have a tendency toward weediness. “Queen Anne’s Lace is the queen of plants for attracting beneficials and it is a traditional medicinal plant, but it can be quite invasive,” Jude says.
Establishment is Key to Success
All the experts agree that getting a hedgerow started takes a serious commitment of time and money. “Once they get going, if you planted the right things, you are not going to be fertilizing or watering, so there is not a whole lot of cost in maintaining them after they are established,” Terence says.
“But you want to have a pretty good idea of how the young plants are going to make it through that first year, because the initial cost is pretty much the entire cost of the hedgerow.”
The biggest problems during establishment tend to be weeds and water. The experts recommend good soil preparation, the use of mulch and some type of irrigation system for at least the first three years.
Jude, who is a practitioner of permaculture, adds one more recommendation: “Start small—even if you only plant 60 feet—-and plant intensively. Have small successes rather than being overwhelmed by large failures.”
This article first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2006 issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or tack and feed store or buy one online.
The sultry, sun-dappled days of summer are gone. Although temperatures are dropping, nature compensates for the lack of warm weather with a spectacular fall display of brilliant red and yellow colors, as leaves gently whirl their way from treetops to forest floors. This is a perfect time to take a gentle hike, observing trees and wildlife getting ready for their winter rest.
Here are five nature-filled, easy-to-hike trails that will exercise your eyes as well as your legs, as you quietly stroll through fall’s natural wonders. If you can’t get away for a vacation this season, read on and you’ll feel like you did.
Michigan Pyramid Point Trail, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore spans a gracefully curved 64 miles of golden sand coastline on the shores of Lake Michigan.
This stunning area encompasses a diversity of natural wonders: immense, imposing sand dunes, high bluffs and serene beech-maple forests interspersed with shimmering lakes and inviting beaches.
The lakeshore features a number of trails that meander through colorful forests and meadows.
The Pyramid Point Trail leads visitors through a 2.8-mile loop that explores surrounding forests, meadows, hills and dunes. The trailhead parking area is on Basch Road, where a wooden box holds maps of the area.
You’ll start out in a grassy meadow and follow the trail to a patch of verdant hills. The trail ascends slowly to a beautiful stand of paper birch trees. Along the way, visitors can pause at a dune with a spectacular panorama of Lake Michigan, with North Manitou and South Manitou Islands in the distance.
Visitors pass through a forest where tall maple trees boast blazing red leaves in the fall, and beech trees hold on to their leaves of gold.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore also offers a flat trail that traverses a field and woods. The trail is accessible to all, including visitors in wheelchairs and those with visual impairments. The trail is marked with signs that describe the birds and trees of the area. There are 160 species of birds that nest in the park throughout the year—a birdwatcher’s paradise.
For more information, call (231) 326-5134.
Rhode Island Clay Head Hill Trail, Block Island
Twelve miles south of Rhode Island, Block Island offers wonderful natural vistas with a well-maintained trail system throughout the island.
Although relatively small–just 10 square miles–Block Island features spectacular 150-foot bluffs, great bird watching opportunities and miles of pristine land that inspired The Nature Conservancy to dub it one of the “Last Great Places in the Western Hemisphere.”
During the fall, the swells of summer tourists dwindle, and the island foliage bursts into brilliant red and gold hues.
Located off a small dirt road that connects to Corn Neck Road, Clay Head Hill Trail leads to some of the island’s most inspiring panoramas. In the fall, migratory songbirds flock past the island; if you visit, you’ll be in one of the best places in North America to observe them.
Follow the trail to the northeast shore of the island and its majestic bluffs. Clay Head also features smaller trails-within-a-trail leading to ocean vistas, pine groves and hidden ponds.
There are several ways to reach Block Island. The Block Island Ferry sails year-round from point Judith, R.I. (and in the summer from other points in Rhode Island, New London, Connecticut and Montauk, N.Y.) The Island Hi-Speed Ferry sails mid-May through mid-October from the State Pier in Galilee, R.I.
For more information, call the Nature Conservancy at (401) 466-2129.
Pennsylvania Turkey Hill Trail, Lancaster County
Lancaster County, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, brims with natural beauty.
Located in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, the county boasts its main outdoor attraction: the Susquehanna River, which affords stunning views of autumn’s natural palette of colors, as well as the opportunity to appreciate wildlife like bald eagles, ospreys and Canada geese.
The area offers many trails near and along the river, but novice to moderately experienced hikers may enjoy the Turkey Hill Trail which rises above the Lower Susquehanna.
Just a short drive from Lancaster City, the Turkey Hill Trail leads visitors through a mostly deciduous forest that turns spectacular shades of red and yellow during the fall. The easiest way to access the trail is from the parking lot of the Highville Fire Company; from there the trail winds downward.
A unique aspect of this trail is the large stand of pawpaw trees, whose leaves have a distinct aroma that resembles green pepper. The pawpaw fruit is also known as custard apple or wild banana and are revered for their sweetness. Hikers will also see sassafras, red oak, red maple, sweet birch and other trees flaunting their autumn foliage.
Parts of the path are steep, but hikers who venture further up the path may be rewarded with sightings of herons, swans, hawks and even turkey vultures.
For more information, call the Lancaster County Conservancy at (717) 392-8220.
Washington Barclay Lake, Snohomish County
Just 12 miles north of Seattle, Washington State’s Snohomish County is home to many scenic hiking trails. For the beginning hiker, the 2.2-mile trail to Barclay Lake, located in the South Fork Skykomish River Valley, offers an easy path through tall trees towering over a blanket of soft moss. To the south, this narrow valley affords a stunning view of the sheer vertical cliffs of Baring Mountain looming overhead; to the north, the jagged faces of Gunn and Merchant Peaks come into view. In the fall, the mountains are streaked with the fiery red of blueberry bushes against the dark green of old-growth Douglas Firs. In the understory, huckleberry leaves turn a vibrant yellow while birds like thrushes, wrens and flycatchers flit from branch to branch.
Hikers on this gentle trail can walk comfortably past wild, majestic surroundings without scaling tall peaks, so bring the whole family. The trail can be muddy in places, so keep an eye on children and make sure everyone is wearing suitable hiking shoes. Bring along a picnic lunch and settle down for a quiet meal in the open air when you reach Barclay Lake, and enjoy the amazing mountain views.
For more information, contact the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau at (425) 348-5802.
Ohio Shawnee State Park
Nestled into the Appalachian foothills near the banks of the Ohio River, Shawnee State Park lies within the 63,000 lush acres of the Shawnee State Forest in south central Ohio.
You’ll find over 100 different species of trees in this densely forested area. In the fall, towering black gum trees blaze a brilliant red, sassafras leaves turn bright orange and sugar maples shimmer with golden yellow leaves.
Shawnee State Park’s Harry Knighton Trail features two miles of low-impact terrain that is high in natural beauty. The trail weaves through gentle hills in the dense, shaded forest near Turkey Creek Lake. Wildlife in the park includes deer, turkeys and grouse, but they generally shy away from hikers who announce their presence. If you tread softly and whisper to your friends, you might have a wildlife encounter. In early fall, you might spy Monarch butterflies getting ready to leave for their annual migration. Occasional Swallowtails and Red Admiral butterflies may also be flitting about through September.
If you’d like company on your walk, the park sponsors its annual fall hike on the third Saturday in October. The free hike covers about five miles, with a break in the middle. You can even learn how to make your own apple butter from park guides.
For more experienced hikers, the park boasts a 60-mile backpacker trail in some of the most awe-inspiring natural areas of Ohio.
For more information, call the park office at (740) 858-6652.
10 Essentials
Make sure you’re well prepared for a safe, pleasant hike. Craig Romano, author of several guidebooks on hiking in the Northwest, advises bringing the following 10 items on all your treks:
1. Map and compass 2. Sun protection 3. Extra clothing, such as a wind-proof jacket 4. Flashlight 5. First-aid supplies 6. Matches 7. Pocket knife 8. Extra food 9. Extra water 10. Emergency shelter such as a Space blanket
It’s a good idea to bring your cell phone, but remember that in many outdoor areas you won’t be able to pick up a signal.
Want to read more stories like this one?Hobby Farms andHobby Farm Homemagazines are your resources for rural living.
The other day I saw these petite, Poinsettia-red tractors sitting in a lot by the freeway, decked out with backhoe and front loader. I don’t even know what kind they were, but they looked adorable and visions of all the backbreaking work one would save us around the farm danced in my head.
If Santa thinks a tractor would be too expensive or mean too much time spent tinkering with it, I’ll settle for a stocking full of chocolate.”
As the season of giving approaches with the relentless speed of Santa’s turbo-sleigh, one’s thoughts naturally turn to unnaturally long lists of the people you have yet to buy or make presents for: kids, spouse, parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, garbage hauler, the veterinarian who handled a midnight lambing emergency and so on.
For those of us who participate in the tradition of holiday gift-giving, this is a time to selflessly show our love and appreciation to the people (and animals) we care about, to the folks who are important in our lives and to those who have little or nothing.
We, of course, expect nothing in return.
OK, that’s a flat-out lie. I don’t know about you, but Santa better have something for me in his sleigh, too, or I’ll be pouting big-time.
It doesn’t have to be anything huge or expensive (although a tractor would be most appreciated and useful, too; see my bio), just a token to show that somebody (and you know who you are) put some thought into what I might like. Because, you know, it’s the thought that counts.
But enough about me. I thought it would be fascinating—and fun—to find out what a handful of farmers like you want most for Christmas. Do farmers, I wondered, wish for the usual holiday gifts squashed into variety stores and malls this time of year: perfume and jewelry, coffee mugs and robes, DVDs and CDs? Not likely, as it turns out.
Santa, please take note.
Trisha Tank tends registered black Angus, dairy goats, rare poultry, mini-donkeys and horses with the help of her farm collies (and husband Aaron!) on Bilrite Farms in northwestern Minnesota.
“All I want for Christmas this year is a skid steer! Why a skid steer you might ask? Well, why not?
After talking to neighbors and other farmers who have one, it seems that a skid steer is the new ‘hired hand.’ It can clean lots; landscape; and move hay, dirt, rock, fence panels and more. A skid steer can get into tight spaces our large tractor can’t and it’s lighter so, with the spring thaw, it offers longer maneuverability around the farm as the frost comes out of the ground.
Yes indeed, a skid steer would make for a very nice present and if Santa can’t fit it into his sled in December, perhaps he can pass along my request to the Easter Bunny?”
Dee Heinrich and her daughter Ashleigh, of Peeper Hollow Farm in Marion, Iowa, spend a large hunk of their 24-hour days producing award-winning, coated fleeces for hand spinners from their flocks of Romney and California Variegated Mutant sheep.
“What we want for Christmas is 365 extra hours—an average of about one hour for each day of the coming year.
These would be hours that are totally free to use as we see fit; not ‘free time’ or ‘work time’ or anything-in-particular time. We would no longer be able to say, ‘I’ve just run out of time!’—we could withdraw what we needed for the day to attend to wherever we had fallen short.
Just imagine all that we could do with an extra hour in every twenty-four!”
“Having had trials and tribulations with predators recently, I suppose a Great Pyrenees guardian dog or guard donkey would be at the top of my Christmas list—we’ve had bobcats and skunks reaching under the wire of our mobile pens at night and eating our broiler chickens.
Then I can live more in harmony with the predators and they can learn to get their food elsewhere.” Paul Hain, of John Hain & Sons, and his wife Leticia raise certified organic broiler chickens and turkeys amidst an 80-acre organic walnut orchard in Tres Pinos, Calif.
Carol Ann Sayle, along with her husband Larry Butler, nurtures a colorful variety of USDA-certified organic vegetables and bling-free chickens on Boggy Creek Farm, which actually encompasses two farms in and near Austin, Texas.
“What I want for Christmas is: a total ban on a mandatory National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which would require hobby farmers to RFID [radio frequency ID] 100 or so free-range chickens.
Hens, unlike human ladies, do not want to wear any ‘jewelry’ at all! And we don’t want to pay thousands of dollars a year for the ‘privilege’ of keeping chickens. After all, the Constitution gives us the RIGHT to keep chickens and this right should not be infringed upon by anybody, with the exception of the occasional raccoon or opossum.”
“What I want for Christmas is … a walk-in cooler/refrigerator for my chicken eggs. Right now I keep the eggs in four or five small refrigerators; I’ve also got eggs in my neighbors’ refrigerators!
It would be so nice to keep them in one spot and to have a big refrigerator with shelves that I could walk into, look at the eggs all at once and stand up in instead of kneeling. It gets to be a pain!” Denise Anderson, with her husband Cameron and son Peter Beno, markets certified, naturally grown eggs from 400 chickens of 10 different breeds at 2 Silos Farm in Mount Gilead, Ohio. They also tend a home/market garden and small flock of sheep.
Patty Putnam keeps pet dwarf goats on her farm in Wisconsin and markets her self-published book, Basics and Beyond—Goat Care Management, to new goat keepers worldwide as part of her never-ending quest to encourage proper goat care.
“What I want for Christmas is always-healthy, well-cared-for goats coast to coast, whether they be backyard pets, show stock, brood stock, production animals or meat or fleece producers … no matter.
Goats give us back so much more than most of us ever give to them—they are amazing animals!”
“What I’d like for Christmas is … a new well. Last summer our well ran dry for a few days and we had no backup. We had to get water from the neighbors and the gas station, hauling it in jugs, about 35 gallons at a time.
With all our livestock, water is a big concern right now.”
Robert Turbyfill, Jr., helps his wife Dawn raise rare-breed cattle, ducks, turkeys, chickens and more on Heirloom Heritage Farms in Spanaway, Wash. They also breed alpacas under Cedar Grove Alpacas, LLC.
“What I want for Christmas is the appropriate amount of rain for our area—spread out over 12 months.
What I don’t want is so much rain that Glory [one of our goats, at left] has to don her life jacket when the creek starts to rise—or the drought we’ve suffered through for the past 18 months or so.
For the past several years, we’ve either had flooding or drought; I want moderation!
Ken, on the other hand, would simply like to receive the winning multimillion dollar [$100 million or better] lottery ticket. He envisions attending the production sales like Showstopper knowing he could buy all the goats there if he chose to and building a state-of-the-art, self-cleaning goat barn in order to allow the goats to live in the manner they would like to become accustomed to.”
Pat and Ken Motes raise South African Boer goats for breeding and show. on Clear Creek Farms in Fall River, Tenn.
“At the top of my Christmas list would be one more llama, but I don’t think my husband would go for that, so I’m going to have to drop a hint about a new-and-improved microscope for checking our llamas’ fecals.
We’ve been regularly performing our own fecal checks for about a year and have learned a lot about our llamas’ parasites. I have to refocus often with my current [mid-price range] microscope and it would be easier to use one like my veterinarian has.”
Marilyn Nenni and her husband Jim keep around 45 to 50 llamas for show and breeding at Shagbark Ridge Llamas in Noblesville, Ind. As 4-H leaders, the pair helped their llama club fund construction of a spacious llama barn at their local fairgrounds this year.
This article first appeared in the November/December 2007 issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store.
About the Author Cherie Langlois is an HF contributing editor who tends a 5-acre farm in Graham, Wash.
Think of walking down a market aisle. There are labels on almost every product there. From fair trade to free range, those labels help the consumer decipher a wealth of information about the products: what’s in them, how they were made, where they came from. That information can help them make educated buying decisions.
As a producer, you’ll want to learn what these food labels mean, choose which ones you want to include on your label and and decipher how certifying your farm’s products can help you set your product apart from the crowd.
Below are a selection of common food labels and what they mean. Use them to help inform your buying and production decisions.
1. All Natural USDA recognized claim for products that are minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients, including but not limited to artificial colors or flavors. The label must explain the use of the term “natural,” such as, “No added colorings or artificial ingredients.” No third-party certifier exists, but producers must be able to show evidence that their product meets the claim.
2. Biodynamic Products are certified by third party as grown using biodynamic principals. www.demeter-usa.org
3. Cage Free “Cage Free” is generally applied to egg cartons; chickens are not kept in a cage, but they don’t necessarily have access to the outdoors. No third-party certifier exists, but producers must be able to show evidence that their birds are not caged.
4. Certified Humane Meat sold under this label must come from animals must be treated in a humane manner. Under the program, growth hormones are prohibited and animals are raised on a diet without antibiotics, but antibiotics can be used in the treatment of sick animals. www.certifiedhumane.org
5. Fair Trade The Fair Trade label is primarily applied to imported agricultural products that meet strict labor and sustainability standards. Certification ensures that farmers and workers are fairly compensated for their products. www.fairtradeusa.org
6. Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is a third-party-certified sustainable-forestry program. Certification ensures forests are being managed to the highest environmental and social standards according to 10 FSC principles. www.fscus.org
7. Free Range Generally applied to egg cartons and chicken products, the “Free Range” label indicates that birds have some access to the outdoors but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have access to pasture. No third-party certifier exists, but producers must be able to show evidence that their birds are allowed access to the outdoors.
8. Fresh Poultry The term “fresh” on the labeling of raw poultry products means that the carcass has never been frozen or reduced to an internal temperature below 26 degrees F. No third-party certifier exists, but producers must be able to show evidence that their birds are sold fresh.
9. Grassfed Producers using a grassfed label will need to meet third-party certification standards as governed by the USDA. However, the American Grassfed Association’s (www.americangrassfed.org) American Grassfed label applies even stricter requirements, including that animals must have regular access to pasture appropriate to the species. Under the USDA-approved label, animals can be fed silage.
10. Heart Check Symbol The Heart Check Symbol is a label made and certified by the American Heart Association; producers who meet AHA guidelines and participate in their certification program may use the heart-check symbol on their labels.
11. Kosher Products may only be labeled as kosher if prepared under Rabbinical supervision. No third-party certifier exists, but producers must be able to show evidence that their products meet the Kosher rule.
12. Leaping Bunny The Leaping Bunny label is used on cosmetics to indicate that products were not tested on animals. This label is granted by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics. www.leapingbunny.org
13. Local or State Identifiers Many states allow producers to apply for the right to label their products with a local or state-grown label. Contact your state’s department of agriculture to learn about such programs in your area.
14. Predator Friendly Producers who are certified as Predator Friendly have made a commitment not to allow any lethal control (shooting, trapping, poisoning) to protect their sheep and cattle from native predators. www.predatorfriendly.com
15. Salmon Safe Certified products from Salmon-Safe, a nonprofit in the Pacific Northwest recognizing fish-friendly farms and products that keep salmon running the rivers, mean the farm or facilities used to process the product use practices that protect water quality and restore habitat. www.salmonsafe.org
16. USDA Organic
All products now labeled as organic must meet USDA requirements and be certified by one of the third-party certifying organizations around the country. www.ams.usda.gov/nop
Delmarvelous chestnuts are thought to be some of the best in the country.
Most of us know that chestnuts can be roasted on an open fire, thanks to the opening lyrics of the classic holiday tune, “The Christmas Song.”
But after the holidays, chestnuts seem to be forgotten along with the fruitcake, eggnog and fuzzy socks from Aunt Ida.
One farm in Townsend, Del., is hoping to change the chestnut’s stigma and teach America that chestnuts are not only a delectable treat, but they can be enjoyed throughout the year. Gary and Nancy Petitt probably thought they would be spending their retirement years moving at a leisurely pace with little stress and a light work load.
Instead of slowing down, though, this innovative couple has taken on an entirely new career path with the hopes of rejuvenating a plant species that has nearly been forgotten in the United States.
As owners of Delmarvelous Chestnuts, the Petitts have made it their mission to change the American consumer’s misconceptions of chestnuts as well as to repopulate the country with this fascinating, nut-bearing tree.
To appreciate the significance of the Petitt’s work in the chestnut industry, one must first understand the monumental ecological event that took place in the early 1900s that altered the way chestnuts were perceived.
History of the Chestnut Tree Prior to the 20th century, American chestnut trees were among the tallest and most plentiful trees in the forests of the eastern United States.
Gary and Nancy Petitt have taken an entirely new career path–chestnut farming–in their retirement years with the hopes of rejuvenating this nut tree in the United States.
The mission of Delmarvelous Farms’ owners is to change the American consumer’s misconception of chestnuts as well as to repopulate the country with this tree.
The harvester/sweeper has a special burr-removal mechanism.
When the Europeans first arrived in North America, one-quarter of the trees were American chestnuts.
These massive specimens were commonly over 100 feet tall, with trunks up to seven feet in diameter; they were a necessary food source not only for humans, but also for the wildlife that populated the forests.
Chestnut trees were also used to build houses, furniture and fences. At the turn of the 20th century, a devastating ecological event occurred. Around 1900, a fungus was introduced to America on imported Asian nursery stock that resulted in a chestnut blight.
From 1904 to the 1940s, the blight destroyed 3.5 billion American chestnut trees.
“It was the biggest ecological disaster of that century, at least from a tree point of view,” Nancy Petitt says. “Before the blight, it was said that a squirrel could get on a chestnut tree in Maine and not get down again until Florida.”
According to the American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation, “no comparable devastation of a species exists in recorded history.”
With an astounding number of trees suddenly killed in the forests, wildlife diminished because of the lack of food. Farmers and residents of the areas also suffered, with no saleable crops or readily available food source during winter. Chestnuts were quickly forgotten as other food staples were introduced.
The Petitt’s Family Tradition Not everyone was willing to give up on the hope of chestnuts repopulating the forests, though.
“My husband’s father had a theory that the reason there wasn’t any small game in the woods was because there wasn’t any food for them,” Petitt says.
Since Gary was a child, his father had worked diligently to reintroduce chestnuts to the forest. He worked with the U.S. Forest Service and the Boy Scouts to figure out how to grow the chestnut population. His father’s solution was to introduce Chinese chestnuts, which are resistant to the chestnut blight now found throughout the East, into the woods around his home in northwestern Pennsylvania, creating a viable food source for the wildlife.
Gary’s father’s award-winning work started to repopulate the forests and made an indelible impact on Gary.
When the couple retired from their corporate jobs, Gary’s family background in chestnuts soon started to influence their future plans. Looking for something to do, they thought of buying a small piece of property in Delaware with an eye toward working with chestnuts as Gary’s father had.
In a twist of fate, the Petitts were vacationing in Florida a year later when they read a magazine article about Chestnut Hill Nursery (now named Chestnut Hill Tree Farm) in Alachua, Fla., and its work to blend American and Chinese chestnut trees.
Chestnut Organizations
American Chestnut Foundation (802) 447-0110
American Chestnut Cooperator’s Foundation
Chestnut Growers of America (360) 887-3669
Northern Nut Growers Association, Inc.
Pennsylvania Nut Growers Association (717) 244-1834
The Petitts were close to the farm and stopped by, where they were generously introduced to much of the research that was taking place in Chestnut Hill Nursery’s effort to re-establish the chestnut industry.
The blending of the American chestnut, prized for its sweet taste though no longer easily found in the Eastern United States, and the blight-resistant Chinese chestnut, with its easy-to-peel skin, was just what the Petitts were searching for.
“We were actually looking for a nut that was commercially viable, while Gary’s dad was just looking for trees that would grow in the forest for the wildlife,” says Petitt.
They bought 500 trees from Chestnut Hill Nursery in 1993 and continued to add more than 1,000 trees over the next two years to their 16 acres of land in Delaware.
This unique combination of two distinct types of chestnuts would prove to be the Petitt’s claim to fame. MORE>>
Intimidated By Knitting? Don’t be! In the Jan/Feb 2009 Hobby Farm Home you’ll find “The Purposeful Knitter” by MaryAnna Clemons, a great article that will inspire you to give knitting a try. Preview the table of contents here>>
Hold onto your needles Here are some great free patterns for sweaters and more we found out on the Web.
Perhaps fellow Laura Ingalls Wilder fans remember the final chapter in These Happy Golden Years, where she writes in blissful, descriptive detail about the pantry her new husband, Almanzo, built for her in their first home in South Dakota.
From the handy, built-in sugar drawers to empty space “for things to come,” this pantry signified the cozy core of farmhouse life and mission control for the kitchen.
Today’s modern pantry can continue to serve as the heart of today’s hobby-farm kitchen with a dash of thoughtful planning.
More than just cabinets stuffed with random dry goods, a well-thought-out pantry can save two of your most precious resources: time and money.
Think of the pantry as your farm’s on-site convenience store, efficiently stocked with the necessary basics to keep your daily meals and food duties humming along, from ample sugar for putting up strawberry jam to ingredients for a quick dessert for the neighbors’ impromptu visits.
Save time by eliminating those unplanned trips to town because you ran out of something and save fuel costs as well.
A well-stocked and organized pantry also helps trim your grocery budget. By always having basic staples on hand, you can readily make homemade—and healthier—versions of pricey, processed foods like hot cocoa or even sweetened condensed milk.
Despite all these glories, the pantry sometimes gets relegated to a low rank among kitchen priorities, often randomly stuffed with food until you can barely close the cabinet doors and don’t know what you have anymore.
Here are some easy tips to quickly and strategically organize and elevate your pantry to the master hub of your kitchen.
Not totally sure what basics to keep in your pantry? Check out Lisa Kivirist’s Farm Pantry Checklist!
Between running a B&B on our farm and my love for baking, organic, unbleached white flour and sugar are two items I can never run out of.
Pantry purposes may change seasonally, particularly during the summer peak when you’re constantly processing the abundant garden harvest.
I freeze loads of spinach and Swiss chard, which add up to a need for a lot of olive oil for the blanching process.
Every spring I visit a Greek grocery store when I’m in Chicago and buy several three-liter, metal containers of imported, extra-virgin olive oil, which aren’t available in such a bulk size—and at such a good price—in my rural Wisconsin area.
I save both money and time by being able to process a season’s worth of garden greens without running out of supplies.
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract.
Separately, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in 1 cup peppermint candy.
Gradually add flour/candy mixture to creamed mixture, beating until blended (dough will be stiff).
Divide dough in half. On ungreased baking sheet, roll each portion into a 12- by 21⁄2-inch rectangle.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove and place on wire rack. Cool for 15 minutes. On cutting board, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices.
Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until firm.
For frosting, melt chocolate. Dip one end in chocolate and roll in the remaining candy.
Cool on wax paper. Yield: Approximately 3 dozen biscotti.
For example, I order my organic, unbleached flour in a 50-pound, bulk bag.
Items that are not available in bulk bags can often be ordered cheaper by the case, like boxes of tea.
Buying core items in bulk helps both your pocketbook and the planet. Not only do you save money over individual units, you use a lot less packaging and contribute less to the landfill. By purchasing bulk organic ingredients, the price is reduced significantly.
Local buying clubs and food co-ops tap into the buying power of a group pooling their resources to purchase bulk foods at close to wholesale prices.
A buying club usually starts at about five or six people to meet minimum order requirements and works through a local natural foods distributor to place a group order. (Look for a listing of food cooperatives near you.)
Another option is to ask your local grocery store to special order a bulk item or case for you, on which they may also be willing to give you a discount.
Use It Up
For those of you like me, with squirreling instincts to pack away food, we need gentle reminders to use up what we stockpile.
This sounds like an obvious concept, but we’ve all accidentally bought something in duplicate or were forced to throw out expired food.
Despite today’s rising food costs, the average American still unfortunately throws out approximately 15 percent of food purchased annually, adding up to over $500 in wasted food.
One “game” our family plays to make sure we don’t let pantry items linger too long is to “eat through” the pantry each winter.
After the December holidays, we try to go cold turkey on buying food, focusing on eating both the garden bounty we canned and froze in combination with everything in the pantry.
This gets us motivated to break into the more exotic impulse purchases we made that year—like grape leaves and quinoa—and forces us to think creatively with pantry ingredients, often leading to new favorite recipes.
One winter we realized we had accumulated a big, plastic bag filled with red-and-white peppermint candies acquired from restaurants and leftover holiday candy canes, which resulted in one of our now-favorite cookie recipes: peppermint biscotti.
Always keep in mind how much you actually use of something and buy accordingly. If a bulk bag is a great deal, but you know you won’t use 50 pounds of rice in a year, consider splitting it with a friend.
I’ve learned to limit my dried herb and spice purchases.
I might save money buying the one-pound bag of bay leaves, but I know I only use a handful for some of my fall soup recipes.
Herbs and spices lose their flavor over time, and I’m better off buying just what I can use in one year and replacing it with fresh stock.
Invest in Proper Storage
The challenge of purchasing in bulk is having a place to conveniently store the item once it comes out of the bulk bag.
Some easy pantry substitutions include:
Don’t have:
Use instead:
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
3 T. unsweetened cocoa plus 1 T. butter or vegetable oil
1 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, remove 2 T. of the flour and add 2 T. cornstarch
1 cup buttermilk
A wee bit less than 1 cup fresh milk with 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit 5 minutes (will curdle).
Going back to identifying your pantry’s purpose, invest in accessible, quality storage containers for the bulk items you use most often. Look for containers made from high-grade, durable materials with tight-fitting lids.
With so many options available online and at retailers such as The Container Store, you can purchase the exact size you need to fit your kitchen.
While some of these containers may seem pricey, investing in something that makes your kitchen routines easier will quickly prove its worth. I had some dead space under a kitchen shelf that evolved into perfect storage for my flour, sugar and dried milk when I found sturdy, plastic bins that were just the right size to slide under that shelf.
Recycled glass containers work well as easy, frugal storage containers. Wide-mouth canning jars make it easy to access the ingredients as well as enable you to quickly identify what’s inside.
Glass and metal containers deter mice as they’re impossible to chew through.
Pack in the Nutrients
Think nutrition when stocking your pantry: How can you get the biggest healthy bang for your buck—and allocated space? Dried beans, for example, deliver high protein, vitamins and minerals at a significant cost savings from canned or processed bean foods.
“Dried fruits rank high as an economical and convenient source of flavor, nutrients and fiber, especially if you grow or buy fresh fruit in season and dehydrate it at home,” recommends Angie Tagtow, an environmental nutritionist based in Iowa and a leading advocate championing public access to fresh, affordable, sustainably raised food.
“Drying your own fruit in season eliminates the added sweeteners and preservatives often added to commercially dried fruit, so all you taste is the pure food flavor.”
Dried fruits such as blueberries and cranberries also offer lots of antioxidants, and can be used as a snack, added to baked items or sprinkled on top of yogurt or oatmeal.
MacGyver Your Pantry
Remember MacGyver, the lead character from the 1980s television show of the same name, who could make just about anything from whatever parts he had on hand? Apply the same principle to your pantry (minus MacGyver’s ever-present duct tape) and think outside the box when a recipe calls for a specific ingredient that you don’t have.
This substitution approach works particularly well for ingredients you wouldn’t commonly have on hand, like fresh buttermilk.
Stuck in the middle of a recipe when you realize you don’t have a can of sweetened condensed milk?
Here’s an easy substitute for sweetened condensed milk that’s much less processed than the commercial variety. This can be used in recipes that call for one can of sweetened condensed milk:
Ingredients:
1 cup dry milk powder
1/3 cup hot water
1/3 cup sugar
3 T. butter (melted)
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender, layering wet and dry ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Add a Dash of Exotic Flavor For minimal space and cost, you can sprinkle some seasonings into your meals that bring a range of global flavors to your rural homestead.
These items probably aren’t available at your local country market; add them to your shopping list for your next trip to the big city:
Tamarindpaste: Tart spice used in Latin American and Asian dishes such as Pad Thai.
Sesame oil: Vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds and used in Indian and Asian cooking.
Hoisin sauce: Chinese dipping sauce made with garlic, vinegar and chili peppers—an interesting alternative to soy sauce.
Fish sauce: Southeast Asian condiment used to flavor various dishes.
Keep Organized
The key to pantry management is restocking before you run out of something. This is especially important if it may be a few weeks before your buying club places another order.
I keep a sticky note inside my kitchen cabinet. When I notice I’m running low on something, it turns into my handy shopping list.
Organization also applies to how you keep your items stored on the shelves. Grouping like items together aids in quickly finding things, such as canned goods, baking supplies, spices and rice.
Think of your farmhouse pantry as the garden’s dance partner, working together with your harvest bounty to bring flavorful, healthy meals to your family’s table.
Our farmhouse pantries may contain different ingredients than a century ago—chocolate chips and soy sauce didn’t cross Laura Ingalls Wilder’s shopping list—but the spirit remains the same: They serve as the mission control of our kitchen, enabling us to celebrate farm life by making every meal special.
When I moved my family to the country, I expected a tractor would be a near-term investment.
With our 3-plus-acre wooded home site and a nearby 120 acres of woods, pasture and cropland, a small tractor seemed a necessity. However, I soon realized my needs as a hobby farmer were considerably different from that of the mixed livestock and crop farm where I had grown up.
I needed something that was dependable and low maintenance yet didn’t require a second mortgage on the house.
I also didn’t need a lot of power, as the fields and pastures were rented to a nephew.
I would be doing tree farming and light maintenance.
What I did want was something that could maneuver well among dense woods and easily pull, push and lift up to several hundred pounds.
With the two properties separated by about 5 miles, I also needed something easy to transport, and in my southeastern corner of Minnesota, also known as “bluff country,” it needed to be able to handle rough, steep terrain.
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) seemed to be the best answer. For half the cost of a new subcompact tractor, I could get similar horsepower, more maneuverability and much higher speeds.
In my work as a writer covering agriculture, I knew that most of what I wanted to do with my land could be done with a powerful four-wheeler if it had the right features.
After spending hours on the Internet exploring tools and options, I found the final link in my chain of decisions: Concord Equipment offers the Groundhog, a hydraulic loader for ATVs.
Most ATV loaders rely on a winch for limited vertical lift, but the Groundhog is powered by a hydraulic pump for up to 4 feet of vertical lift and a 300-pound lift capacity. Attachments include a bucket, a blade and a posthole auger. The three hydraulic cylinders give it down pressure, vital for digging, and deliver tilt control of the attachments. This was what I needed to do my farm work.
The next decision: What make and model of ATV to buy.
I spent hours scouring user remarks on the Internet before I ever walked into a showroom. While there are many excellent ATVs on the market, I quickly narrowed my choices to the Yamaha Grizzly and the Honda Foreman.
Both had the power I needed and were rated well by users. In the end, I went with the 499cc Honda Foreman, due in large part to Honda’s reputation for dependability and on-farm use. It offers maximum-performance or maximum-torque continuously variable transmission (CVT) settings, each with high and low ranges, and electric shift program (ESP).
CVT transmissions offer the best of hydrostatic and mechanical transmissions, finding the best gear ratio for each situation. The ESP, with its push-button shifting through four speeds, is sort of an automatic on steroids, giving you the feel and control of a gearshift without the hassle of clutching.
This article first appeared in the March/April 2009 Hobby Farms. If you enjoyed this article and want more like it, click here to subscribe online.
This stunning area encompasses a diversity of natural wonders: immense, imposing sand dunes, high bluffs and serene beech-maple forests interspersed with shimmering lakes and inviting beaches.
Located in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, the county boasts its main outdoor attraction: the Susquehanna River, which affords stunning views of autumn’s natural palette of colors, as well as the opportunity to appreciate wildlife like bald eagles, ospreys and Canada geese.
You’ll find over 100 different species of trees in this densely forested area. In the fall, towering black gum trees blaze a brilliant red, sassafras leaves turn bright orange and sugar maples shimmer with golden yellow leaves.
